The Hermit’s Cave – Page 19

15th July 202012th July 2020

Tone Stacking: Using Another Pedal To Shape The Fender MTG:LA’s Sound

In my opinion, Fender’s MTG:LA pedal is a bit of a conundrum. I think it’s got just the one sound, and if that sound doesn’t work for you or your rig, the pedal’s EQ controls can’t save the situation.

I love it with my Strat and my Tele. I don’t like it anywhere near as much with my Les Paul.

Thankfully, we’re not limited to what the MTG:LA can do on its own. We can give it some help, in the form of a second pedal to shape the tone a bit more. And I’m really liking the results.

10th July 202010th July 2020

First Impressions: Lovepedal 5e3 Deluxe

Recently, I picked up a second-hand Lovepedal 5e3 Deluxe.

What did I think of it? Read on for my First Impressions.

8th July 202010th July 2020

First Impressions: Lovepedal High Power Tweed Twin (HPTT) Overdrive Pedal

Recently, I bought a Lovepedal High-Powered Tweed Twin (HPTT for short) from the second-hand market.

What do I think of it? Here’s my First Impressions.

7th July 20205th July 2020

Studio Diary #21: Homemade Shelving For My Amps

In February, I decided to change the layout of the room at home that doubles as my home office and home studio. It was a good decision. Now I just have to work through the consequences.

There isn’t the same amount of space for my amps as there was before. I needed new furniture to put them on. In a world of metric measurements and largely imported furniture, amps and their dinosaur imperial measurements are a very awkward fit. I wasn’t able to find anything in the shops that would suit.

I had to make my own. And, partway through, the pandemic lockdown started.

This one’s a bit of a long read, as much about the story as step-by-step instructions. If you’re interested in making your own, I hope you find it useful!

4th July 202011th September 2021

First Impressions: Keeley D&M Drive

Thanks to its association with That Pedal Show, the Keeley Electronics D&M Drive has to be one of the most well-known drive pedals to launch in recent years.

I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought myself one. What do I think of it? Here’s my first impressions of this award-winning pedal.

3rd July 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Mythos Pedals’ Lark (Rhett Shull Signature) Overdrive Pedal

Back in May 2020, my pre-ordered Mythos Lark drive pedal arrived. It’s been on the practice board most of the time since then, sharing time with various other tweed-tone pedals that I’ve been looking at.

How has it gotten on? Here’s my First Impressions of this drive pedal. It’s a bit of a long read …

1st July 202030th June 2020

What I Learned From Buying Music Every Week

When the UK lockdown began in late March, a lot of musicians lost the majority – if not all – of their income. I was in a position to help, so I started buying an album every single Monday.

I lasted about 12 weeks before I stopped.

What was it like, and why did I stop doing it every single week? Here’s my thoughts on what I learned.

30th June 20205th July 2020

New Arrivals For June 2020

I’m keeping an eye on eBay for extra-unusual items, just in case. This month, though, is all about overcoming my fears, and starting to make good use of what I’ve already got.

Here’s everything that arrived this month, with first impressions to follow.

29th June 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Universal Audio’s LUNA DAW

The thing I hate most about digital recording? Latency. Even though I’m about as far away from a technically-accomplished player as you can get, I really struggle with coping with latency when I’m recording with Reaper. It’s the main reason that I bought my first UAD Apollo interface back in 2016.

So when Universal Audio announced LUNA, and made a huge song-and-dance about how it enables recording with virtually zero latency, I had to try it.

That was at the end of April 2020. I’ve been using it on-and-off throughout May, and scribbling down notes as I went along.

When you read this, please remember that it’s perfectly possible that some of these points may have been addressed in more recent releases of LUNA. UAD seem to be doing a great job of getting regular updates out for users.

That kinda hints that I ran into a lot of pain points with LUNA …

26th June 2020

The Green Strat Is Back

My green Strat is back from the shop. It’s been in for some more mods. What have I had done to it this time, and am I happy with the results of the upgrades I asked for?